Sauber Redesigns 2018 F1 Car in Preparation for Coming Season

Formula 1 racing team, Sauber is apparently going a different direction with their 2018 formula iteration.

Source: Autosport

This comes as no surprise considering the team is at the bottom of the constructor’s championship with five points and has found itself being excluded from the midfield as the season wears on. The team also found itself being weighed down by the 2016 spec Ferrari engine while question marks concerning the future compromised the 2017 design program. Team principal Fred Vasseur took over from Monisha Kaltenborn midway through the season and one of his original priorities involved the securing of the latest spec Ferrari engine for the year 2018.

Team Principal Recommends Company Expansion

According to Vasseur, the car was already in wind tunnel testing phases so the progress thus far was decent. The firm is still working on the particulars of their partnership with Ferrari and if it would involve additional components even though the principal previously suggested as the partnership arranged by Haas. He was also quick to emphasize the current vehicle is using the 2016 iterations and designs and what is being worked for, is for the 2018 season. As such, it would also allow for the racing team to have developmental space to start from scratch.

Team management understands the scale of the challenge which lies ahead for Sauber but has the opinion the team should boost its workforce so that it can close the gaps in performance.

Source: Car Throttle

This is going to be a hard task for Sauber considering the other teams have all upgraded their inputs for 2017. Even Vasseur stated the rest of the teams would have a better carry over as compared to the Sauber team. That means it would be that much harder for the racing team to come back into the midfield. It is a significant step, though there seems to be no change in regulations during the coming years. The team principal is approaching the issue from the perspective of manpower clearly but in a qualitative aspect. Vasseur claims the biggest challenge in his view would be increasing the size of the firm and in the same sentence mentions increasing the performance for each department. Basically, he is referring to asset creation to bolster the level of performance at such a level which would then be emulated on the track. This seems to be a call to arms in a tactical capacity because the relation is to gradually advance within the grid to become a serious contender.

Sauber to maintain Ferrari relationship

Sauber and Ferrari seem to have a technical relationship dating back as far as 1997 though the team results as concerns formula 1 where when it was an independent contractor.

Source: Auto Express

Though, it did manage to get second place in 2012 twice utilizing the Ferrari engines. According to team principal, Vasseur the shared level of experience taking place between the Sauber Formula 1 team and Ferrari has constructed strong foundations allowing the Sauber to proceed efficiently especially when it comes to the development of the 2018 iteration of the car. This deal could also have effects on Pascal Wehrlein considering Marcus Ericsson was the favored driver for the current owners of the team.

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